Guard in a lacing machine



May 26, 1959 J, oss 2,887,701

GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 19. 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 r aw y 6, 1959 J. FOSSA 2,887,701

GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec 19, 1952 v e Sheets-Sheet 2 I A Mil? /d/;Z iam M y 6. 1 5 J. FOSSA 2,887,701

I GUARD IN A'LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 19. 1952 G'Sheets-Sheet 3 May 26, 1959 J. FOSSA 2,887,701

GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 19. 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 f jar 1% May 26, 1959 J. FossA 2,837,701

GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 19, 1952 6 sheets-Sheet 5 y 26,1959 J. FossA 2,887,701

GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 19, 1952 e Sheets-Sheet e United States-Patent O GUARD IN A LACING MACHINE Joseph Fossa, South Hamilton, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Original application December 19, 1952, Serial No. 326,948. Divided and this application May 26, 1958, Serial No. 737,647

i 3 Claims. (Cl. l258.5)

The present invention relates to a guard for use in a machine for operating upon shoe uppers, and more particularly to a guard for protecting the moving parts of the looper mechanism of an eyeletting machine from the heel portion of an eyeletted upper presented thereto with the lacing margins in an opened out outside-up edge-facing relation and with the heel portion of the upper projecting away from and downwardly with relation to the eyeletting mechanism.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a machine for automatically eyeletting and lacing the eyeletted upper which is in many respects similar to that shown in the patent to Fossa, No. 2,461,889 dated February 15, 1949, for Machine and Method for Manufacture of Shoes. The present application is a division of the copending application of Fossa, Ser. 326,948 for Machine for Operating Upon Shoe Uppers filed in the United States Patent Ofiice December 19, 1952. The machine referred to in general provides a rotatable work supporting turret on which are carried four radially movable workholders each provided with clamping devices for supporting the upper with the lacing margins thereof in an opened-out edge-facing relation and with the heel portion of the upper extending radially inwardly on the workholder toward. the axis of the turret.

Disposed about the turret are a loading station including means which enable the operator to locate and to secure the upper on the workholder in an exactly predetermined position in accordance with the size and style of the upper to be operated upon. By successive quarter turns of the turret the workholder and upper supported thereon are brought successively into operating relation with an eyeletting machine for inserting eyelets in successive pairs in the upper, and into operating relation with a lacing machine for lacing the eyeletted upper. A further quarter turn of the turret brings the workholder to an unloading station at which the eyeletted and laced upper is released from the workholder preparatory for removal from the machine. I

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a guard for the moving parts of the looper mechanism of the eyeletting machine which will engage with and position the downwardly projecting heel portion of the supported upper away from the said moving parts, while at the same time allowing a maximum advance of the eyeletted upper into the lacing machine.

The several features of the invention will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an automatic machine for eyeletting and for lacing the eyeletted shoe upper illustrating particularly the work supporting and transfer assembly of the machine including the turret and four disposed respectively at the eyeletting and unloading stations being shown; v

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of the lacing machine;

Fig. 4 is a view in right side elevation of substantially those portions of the lacing machine shown in front elevation in Fig. 3, the machine being shown in its stop position with the end of the lacing cord held in the clamp;

Fig. 5 is a somewhat fragmentary view of the lacing machine looking from the right to illustrate the operation of the clamp, in which the cord has been advanced by the cord pusher member past the retracted clamping element and the clamping element is about to be tripped into clamping position; ,7

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view in left side elevation illustrating particularly the looper mechanism; and

Fig. 7 is a view in front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 6, the parts in these figures being shown in the position subsequent to the first position taken when the needle has completed its first advancing and retracting movement.

Referring to the drawings, the general arrangement of the improved machine disclosed for performingrelated eyeletting and lacing operations upon "a shoe upper is generally indicated in the plan view, Fig. l and in the partly sectioned side view, only so much of the machine, however, being shown as is believed necessary to illustrate the connection of the present invention therewith. For a more detailed disclosure of the machine, reference may be had to the Fossa Patent No. 2,461,889, dated February 15, 1949 for Machine and Method for Manufacture of Shoes (above referred to). In the present disclosure, the base of the machine is generally indicated at 50 and includes a cylindrical casing 52 within which is mounted an indexing work supporting turret- 54. The turret provides support for four Workholders 132 which are mounted on guideways 131 extending radially outward from the turret at angles from one another. At the front side of the machine, there is provided a locating station which comprises a locating mechanism generally indicated at P for the assistance of the operator in locating and clamping successive uppers on the workholders. At the remaining stations proceeding in a counterclockwise direction around the turret there are provided an eyeletting mechanism generally indicated at I, a lacing mechanism generally indicated at L, and a fourth station between the lacing and loading station to which the workholding clamps are released. a

With the present construct-ion the turret 54 is provided with an upward extension or hub 129 which is rig: idly secured to the turret shaft 54 and disc 68 and is formed with a table top 130 which is of substantially smaller diameter than the disc 68 previously referred to (see Fig. 2). At its lower end the hub 129 is externally supported by the sleeve bearing member 72. The table top 130 provides support for four guideways 131 which extend radially outwardly from the'turret at 90 angles to one another to receive the respective workholders 132. I

Each workholder 132 of the illustrated construction, see Fig. 2, comprises a generally U-shaped member having outwardly flanged edges forming guides which ride under the recessed edges of the rail guideway 131, and two parallel sets of upwardly extending resiliently mounted pins 136 (see Fig. 2) which form the lower relatively stationary elements of a clamping device for engaging the two adjoining edge portions of the upper.

As in the Fossa patent referred to, the workholders are normally maintained in a fully retracted position on their guideways 131 toward the axis of the turret except that at each of the eyeletting and lacing stations the workholder is operatively connected with a feed slide which acts to impart a stepped feeding movement to the workholder and upper mounted thereon outwardly into operating relation with the respective eyeletting and lacing mechanisms, and there fter .to return the workholder tothe normally retracted position on the turret preparatory to a further indexing movement of the turret.

In accordance with the disclosure of the Fossa patent above referred to, each of the eyeletting and lacing machines is provided with a feed slide which is operatively connected with the workholder presented at the particular station,'and which thereafter acts to feed the workhplder into therespective machine and then to return the workholder to its retracted transfer position. The feed slide associated with the eyeletting machine is indicated at 142 (see Fig. 2 having a bifurcated outer end 143 notched for locking engagement with correspondingly formed notches 144 in the workholder. The feed slide associated with the lacing machine is indicated at 145 similarly formed with a bifurcated and notched outer end portion for engagement with the workholders presented successively thereto by the indexing movement of the turret.

Each workholder 132 as shown, for example, in Fig. 2, has mounted thereon a pair of movable work clamping jaws 146, a pair of vamp spreaders 147, 148, and a lace measuring or allotting bar 149.

In accordance with the invention a shielding device is provided for shielding moving parts of the looper mechanism with relation to the depending heel of an upper mounted on a workholder with the eyelet flaps in an outside-up position for the insertion of visible eyelets.

As hereinafter more fully set forth the lacing instrumentalities of the machine with relation to which the supported shoe upper is moved for the insertion of lacings successively through the eyelet pairs comprise an eye lacing needle 327 arranged to enter the eyelets from above the work and a looper mechanism comprising a double looper 328 on which is pivotally mounted a double spreader 329 disposed below the work. The looper 328 and spreader 329, as more fully set forth in the Fossa Patent 2,461,889 above referred to, are supported and arranged to be moved bodily from side to side with the lateral movements of the needle and also for additional swinging movements which still further increase the swing of the looper assembly for enchaining and drawing in successive pairs of stitches. When the shoe upper is mounted on the workholder so that the heel portion of the upper extends below the workholder, the extent of the movement of the work support and upper outwardly from the turret into the lacing machine is limited by the engagement of the encircling heel portion with the looper mechanism. The engagement of the upper with these moving parts tends to result in injury to the shoe upper and to the operating parts of the machine.

In the preferred form of the invention shown, a movable guard is employed for the protection of the looper mechanism which will avoid any undesirable contact of the heel portion of the upper with these moving looper parts of the machine and which will at the same time cause the heel portion of the upper to conform as closely as possible to the shape of the lacing machine parts and will thus permit the clamped lacing margins of the upper to be moved outwardly to the greatest possible extent.

As best shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, a relatively narrow vertically arranged stationary guard is provided immediately in front of the looper mechanism which acts in combination with a second guard which is located between the stationary guard and the looper mechanism and is mounted to move as a unit with the looper mech anism first to one side and then to the other side of the machine. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a stationary guard is provided; which comprises. a transverse strap 330 havingv anv upward extension 332 and to which, is fastened a tapered upwardly extending guard plate 324 having at its upper end an offset upward extension which provides a stop to prevent possible movement of the locatin pin slide 278 (Fig. 2) outwardly with the workholder into the path of the lacing needle. As will be evident from Fig. 4, the stationary guard plate 334 is of relatively narrow width so that the heel of the upper may be drawn around it at a fairly sharp angle to allow for a maximum outward movement of the shoe upper into the lacing machine. A guard plate 336 secured to the double looper spreader 329 and having the upper end thereof spaced away from the looper mechanism provides an additional shielding element which is movable from side to side of the machine with the looper and acts to prevent any possible contact of the looper mechanism with the upper. With this arrangement of the guard devices the heel portion of the shoe upper is bent sharply about the stationary guard plate 334, thus permitting a maximum movement of the eyeletted upper toward the lacing machine, while those portions of the shoe upper immediately adjacent thereto will be engaged by and swayed from side to side by engagement with the oscillating guard plate 336.

The general arrangement of the lacing instrumentalities will be evident from a consideration of Fig. 3 in which the eye lacing machine needle 327 above referred to is mounted on a needle bar 343 which is supported for longitudinal movement in a frame 344 arranged for lateral swinging movements about a pivot 345. Vertical movements are imparted to the needle 327 by means of a crank 346 which is connected by link 347 with a pair of toggle links 348, 349, the upper of which is connected to a needle actuating lever 350. The double looper 328 is secured at its lower end to a carrier rod in the form of a rock shaft 351 which is in turn supported for lateral movements bodily on a depending frame 352 arranged to swing. about a pivot 353 (see Figs. 6 and 7). It will be understood that the lacing machine thus far described in connection with Figs. 3, 4, and 5. is in general similar to the lacing machine specifically described in the Fossa Patent No. 2,461,889, above referred to, and that only so muchof' themachine is here shown as is believed necessary to illustrate the connection of theinvention therewith.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for lacing eyeletted shoe uppers, the combination with supporting means on which the upper is presented with the lacing margins is an opened-out edgefacing relation in an outside-up position and with the heel portions of the upper facing downwardly, of a lacing mechanism comprising a lacing needle supported above the work for longitudinal reciprocating and transverse positioning movements to pass alternately through the eyelets. of the pair, a double looper assembly pivoted for lateral oscillatory movements in timed relation with the needle, a vertically disposed heel guard supported from the machine. in front ofthe oscillating looper, and a guard plate supported between the looper assembly and stationary element for movement with the looper assembly to engage with and distort one side of the upper adjacent the; needle away from the looper mechanism during each oscillatory movement thereof.

2. In a machine for lacing eyeletted shoe uppers, the combination with a support on which the shoe upper is mounted with the lacing margins in an opened-out edgefacing relation in an outside-up position and with the heel portion of the upper facing downwardly, a lacing mechanism comprising a lacing needle arranged for longitudinal reciprocating and transverse positioning movements to pass alternately through the eyelets of the pair, a denble looper assembly pivoted for lateral oscillatory move ments; in timed. relation with the needle, means for advancing the supported upper past the lacing devices for inserting lacings from the toe toward the angle end of said margins, andmeans-for shielding andsupporting the heel portion of the upper during said advance comprising a narrow vertically disposed stationary heel guard disposed directly in front of the oscillating looper, and a guard plate forming part of the looper assembly and movable therewith to engage with and distort the engaged side portions of: the upper adjacent the heel during each oscillatory movement of the looper assembly.

3. In a machine for operating upon shoe uppers having a plurality of stations, a rotatable turret, a workholder supported by the turret to be transferred therewith to different stations and for movement on the turret radially outwardly from a transfer position toward the turret axis, said workholder comprising upper and lower clamping elements for mounting the upper with the lacing margin in an opened-out edge-facing relation and with the heel portion of the upper placed toward the axis of the turret encircling one of said elements, a lacing mechanism at one of said stations comprising a lacing needle arranged at the upper side of the work for longitudinal reciprocating and transverse movements to pass alternately through the eyelets of the pair, a double looper assembly pivotally supported at the lower side of the work for lateral oscillatory movements in timed relation with the needle, means advancing the workholder and supported upper past the lacing devices, and means for shielding and supporting the heel portion of the upper during said advance comprising a narrow stationary heel guard disposed directly in front of the oscillating looper, and a guard plate supported between the looper assembly and stationary element for movement with the looper assembly to engage with and distort one side of the upper adjacent the heel away from the looper mechanism during each oscillatory movement 15 thereof.

No references cited. 

